This collection consists of materials collected by Hargis Westerfield in his
capacity as historian for the U.S. Army 41st Infantry Division. The 41st Infantry was an activated National Guard
Division serving in the South Pacific during World War II. Westerfield served in the 163rd Infantry Regiment of the
41st Division and acted as historian for the Division. The collection consists of subject files (1942-1945; 1971-1987)
arranged by campaign and military unit, containing copies of official documents, diaries, writings and letters, lists
of casualties, maps, and reports concerning the experiences serving in the South Pacific during World War II.

Hargis Westerfield was born in Richmond, Kentucky, on November 1, 1909. He received military training at Army
Finance School at Ft. Harrison, Indiana. During World War II he served as a private first class in the Pacific Theater
of operations, and earned, among other awards, a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Westerfield received a Ph.D. from
Indiana State University, and served as a professor of English at the University of Nebraska. He was Division historian
for the U.S. Army 41st Infantry Division from 1949 until his death in 1998, collecting diaries and reminiscences
describing Division members' experiences in the Pacific Theater during World War II. These materials, in conjunction
with his own research, form the basis for articles published in the
Jungleer, a magazine produced by the 41st Infantry Division Association.

The 41st Infantry Division was composed of Army National Guard units from Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and
Washington. These units were activated for service during World War II. During the war, recruits from around the nation
were assigned to the various regiments of the 41st Infantry Division. The primary elements of the Division were its
three infantry regiments: 162nd (Oregon), 163rd (Montana), and 186th (Idaho and Washington). The 41st also contained
several smaller combat and support units including several Field Artillery Battalions, the 116th Engineer Battalion,
the 116th Medical Battalion and the 163rd Combat Team.

The Division participated in many major battles and campaigns. Included among its major engagements were the
battles of Salamaua and Sanananda during the New Guinea campaign; invasions of Wakde, Hollandia, Biak, Aitape and Jolo
islands; conquest of Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindinao Island, in the South Philippine Archipelago; and occupation of
Japan.

The collection consists of subject files (1942-1945; 1971-1987) arranged by campaign and military unit,
containing copies of official documents; diaries, letters, and reminiscences; lists of casualties and awards; and maps;
all concerning the experiences of the Division serving in the South Pacific during World War II. There is a subgroup
for each military campaign, including Australia, Papua, Sanananda, Salamaua, Aitape, Hollandia, Wakde-Toem, Biak,
Palawan, Zamboanga, Bongao, Davao, Jolo, Sulu, the occupation of Japan, and multi-campaign unit histories. Within each
subgroup there are files for each military unit involved. Among the more important units are the 41st Infantry
Division, the 162nd, 163rd, and 186th infantry regiments, and several other units including the 116th Engineers and the
116th Medical Battalions. The unit files include copies of declassified military documents; diaries, letters and
reminiscences from veterans; lists of casualties and awards; and Hargis Westerfield's notes and writings. There are
also files on Japanese regiments and Philippine insurgent groups. There is also a card index for recipients of medals.
[OVERSIZE MATERIALS: Map case.]

Restrictions on Use

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available
reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library
before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the
collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Arrangement

By military campaign, then by unit

Location of Collection

MC 364

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Processing Note

This collection was formerly MC 244, but due to the donation of a much larger accession, the collection had to
be moved to a new location. The processor made the difficult decision to organize the files by campaign, rather than by
unit. There are major advantages and disadvantages to each approach. The chief deciding factor was the better
understanding of the war in the Pacific resulting from organizing the collection by campaign. The multi-campaign
subgroup at the end of the collection includes valuable unit histories, which follow the activities of specific units
throughout the war, plus writings and diaries of individuals covering more than one campaign.

Westerfield organized file folders in preparation for writing articles in the
Jungleer, magazine. Letters and writings from specific individuals are often
fragmented by what topic they were writing about. Many writings are unidentified or poorly identified. Many handwritten
signatures were difficult to read, so spellings may be wrong.

Related Materials

Microfilm 507: U. S. Adjutant General's Office, purchased by Hargis Westerfield and donated with the
collection, contains 37 reels of "Morning Reports" July-Aug.1943, April-July and Sept.-Oct. 1944, and Mar.-June 1945,
listing location of each military unit and the soldiers on active duty in that unit. There is also 1 reel of "Annexes
to Operations Reports, 186th, Biak"

Japanese Armed Forces: "Operations of the Imperial Japanese Armed
Forces in the Papua, New Guinea, Theater during World War II", by Kengoro Tanaka; "Statement concerning the New Guinea
Operations in 1942", by Shuichi Miyazaki

162nd Infantry Regiment. Headquarters: official documents (reports,
mostly by Col. A. R. McKechnie, including "Report of Operations...", "Leadership", "The Salamaua Campaign of the 162nd
Infantry...", "Notes on Campaign 162nd Infantry in New Guinea...", "The Problems of Bases and Supply in the Southwest
Pacific", "Rifle Company in Jungle Combat", "Training for Combat in the Jungles", cooperation with Australians, etc.)